- Author: Ben Faber
Rae Olsson rachel.olsson@wsu.edu 509-335-4846
PULLMAN, Wash. - A tiny bee imposter, the syrphid fly, may be a big help to some gardens and farms, new research from Washington State University shows.
An observational study in Western Washington found that out of more than 2,400 pollinator visits to flowers at urban and rural farms about 35% of were made by flies--most of which were the black-and-yellow-striped syrphid flies, also called hover flies. For a few plants, including peas, kale and lilies, flies were the only pollinators observed. Overall, bees were still the most common, accounting for about 61% of floral visits, but the rest were made by other insects and spiders.
"We found that there really were a dramatic number of pollinators visiting flowers that were not bees," said Rae Olsson, a WSU post-doctoral fellow and lead author of the study published in Food Webs. "The majority of the non-bee pollinators were flies, and most of those were syrphid flies which is a group that commonly mimics bees."
Syrphid flies' bee-like colors probably help them avoid predators who are afraid of getting stung, but they are true flies with two wings as opposed to bees which have four. The flies might have additional benefits for plants, Olsson added, since as juveniles they eat pests like aphids. As adults, they consume nectar and visit flowers so have the potential to move pollen the same way that bees do, though it is less intentional than bees who collect pollen to feed their young.
For the study, the researchers surveyed plants and pollinating insects and spiders on 19 rural farms and 17 urban farms and gardens along the Interstate 5 corridor in Western Washington. They conducted surveys six separate times over two years. In addition to the visits by bees and syrphid flies, they also catalogued more rare visits by other arthropods including wasps, lacewings, spiders, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and ants--all with visits of less than 4%.
Olsson first noticed the many different non-bee pollinators while working on a bee-survey project led by Elias Bloom, a recent WSU doctoral graduate. The results of this study underscore the need for researchers as well as gardeners and farmers to pay more attention to alternative pollinators, Olsson said, and hoped that similar studies would be conducted in other regions of the country.
"Bee populations are declining, and we are trying to help them, but there's room at the table for all the pollinators," Olsson said. "There are a lot of conservation and monitoring efforts for bees, but that doesn't extend to some of the other pollinators. I think people will be surprised to find that there are a lot more different types of pollinating insects - all we really need to do is to start paying a little more attention to them."
The study also noted pollinator differences between rural and urban spaces. Observations sites in urban areas showed a greater diversity of pollinators corresponding with the wider range of plants grown in city gardens and smaller-sized farms. Rural farms with their larger fields of plants had a greater abundance.
For every grower, urban or rural, who is interested in increasing the number and diversity of pollinators visiting their fields or gardens, Olsson recommended increasing the variety of flowering plants.
Making sure that something is flowering all throughout the season, even if on the edge of a field, will support the biodiversity of pollinators because their different life stages happen at different times of the year.
"Some pollinators like certain butterflies and moths are only present in a pollinating form for a small period of time," Olsson said. "They may only live for a few days as adults, so when they emerge and are ready to pollinate, it's good to make sure that you have something for them to eat."
Read On: https://news.wsu.edu/2021/06/22/bee-impersonating-flies-show-pollinator-potential/
Photo: Not a bee, a hover fly or syrphid fly
- Author: Ben Faber
The University of California is offering a free webinar next week, July 15 at 11 AM,
on
Managing ACP and Citrus Growth Using Particle Films.
Particle films such as
kaolin/Surround are among the organic options for ACP management.
The webinar is
approved for 1.0 CEU.
|
Translating the science of managing HLB
Your resource for learning about existing and new tools being developed by researchers to protect and manage citrus from the causative agent of huanglongbing (HLB).
Research Snapshots
Click on the links below to explore the snapshots!
Questions?
We have the answers!
Growers and end-user audiences can use this PowerPoint presentation which has been tailored for their use. It provides general background on the genetics that are used to modify crops and information on state and national regulatory approaches and consumer attitudes.
Examples of the questions that are addressed:
- What are the general processes of genetically modifying plants and insects?
- When and where did huanglongbing (HLB) come from?
- What are some genetic approaches to controlling HLB?
- What is consumer response to engineered crops and foods?
Upcoming Events
Free webinar on
Thursday, July 15, 2021
11 AM-12 PM PDT
w/Q&A until 12:30 PM
Managing Asian Citrus Psyllid and Citrus Growth Using Particle Films
Speaker: Dr. Christopher Vincent, University of Florida
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- Author: Ben Faber
People rise to the occasion all the time. Mike Shore was a good farmer who helped other farmers. If you had cherimoyas or sapotes or Meyer lemons from a small farm and didnt know how to pack and market them, he would jump in and do the work. He knew how to deal with small volume, unusual crops through his Shore Packing in Santa Paula. It was an art and pure connections. He was also a Pixie mandarin/tangerine grower and helped to build that varieties prominence. He will be missed.
Frederick Michael Shore, “Mike” passed away after a brief illness on July 1, 2021. in Ventura.
Farming was his occupation and travelling, hiking, woodworking, stone cutting, and gourd art were his avocation.
Mike was born in Ventura, July 20, 1938, to Frederick Alfred Shore and Wilda Kathleen Workman Shore. He was an alumnus of Thacher School and Claremont Men's College. Drafted into the Army in 1961, he spent 2 years serving with the Transportation Corps in La Rochelle, France, where he met and married his wife, Mary Frances Matlock. They celebrated 58 years of marriage.
Mike and the family farmed in Santa Paula and Ojai, and packed specialty fruit in Santa Paula. Always willing to try something new, he grew the orchards using both conventional and organic practices. Mike especially enjoyed selling fruit at the Ventura Certified Farmers Market and interacting with the customers. All the farming activities would not have been possible without the able help of the farm workers.
Shortly after moving to Santa Paula he joined the Young Farmers and Ranchers of Ventura County. That association led to him serving on several Farm related Boards and he was a founding member of the Ojai Valley Pixie Growers Association. Mike also served on the boards of the Santa Clara Valley School, Santa Paula Historical Society, and Santa Paula Art Museum. He was a member of Santa Paula Rotary Club and St. Sebastian Parish.
Most of his married life was lived in Santa Paula where he and Mary raised their four children. Retiring from full time farming in 2009, he spent 11 years as a part time resident of Mammoth Lakes, CA. There he actively participated in the Range of Light Group, Mono Lake Volunteers, Mammoth Chorus and Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theater. He greatly enjoyed being part of the cast in the “Fidler on the Roof” Mammoth production.
Whether he was at the beach or In the Sierra, he observed the birds, flora, fauna, pressed flowers and made bird lists. Many good times were had at the Courtright Lake cabin that was built for family and friends to enjoy and experience the beautiful California Sierra.
In all the stages of his life, he valued the friends and relatives that were with him on his life journey.
Mike is survived by his wife, Mary, children Mark (Diane), Ben, Kathleen (Morgan) Peter and Grandchildren Nicholas Shore, Nathaniel Shore, Malakai Lyons-Shore, Finley Lyons-Shore, Lucy Lyons- Shore.
His final weeks were spent in the Ventura County Medical Center where he was grateful for the fine care the doctors and nurses gave him.
- Author: Ben Faber
If you missed the recent UC/CAS/CAC grower meeting on cooling avocado trees or just want to review the enormous amount of information or just want to wander other grower's orchards, Here is the video of the presentations:
Mitigating Heat
- Author: Ben Faber
This article was first posted in July of 2020 when it wasn't clear what this leaf roller/leaf miner was going to do. In the last couple of weeks I have heard from two PCAs from Ventura saying that they are having to spray for it. So, it is back and it is probabl6y going to hang around for a while. It does not seem to feed on fruit. It causes damage to leaves but it doesn't seem to be significant on mature trees. On a newly planted tree, it can defoliate it, so it should not be neglected. Read the history below.
A new pest for avocado? Old pest? How much damage will it do? Don't know yet.
Tracy Ellis, the San Diego County Ag Commissioner Entomologist has partially identified what appeared to be two pest and a parasitoid, as only one pest and a beneficial that is doing it's duty going after the pest.
The insect determination has come back for both larvae (one a leaf miner and one a leaf roller) as the same insect! It has been determined to be C-rated gracillariid miner Caloptilia sp. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) at this time. An image of the adult moth is not yet available.
Apparently, the larval stage transitions from a miner to a roller, in what's called hyper-metamorphosis. Starting as a miner and abandoning the mine to roll the leaf. CDFA scientist Marc Epstein is taking a closer look at this insect . Marc does not know if it is a local insect that adapted to avocados or is an import, as many in this family have not been studied or sequenced.
The leaf roller/folder has appeared down in San Diego and Santa Barbara. It's not clear whether it will be a pest of the fruit at this time.
The results for the parasite came back as Hymenoptera. That too needs greater study.
Above is a photo of both insect stages. They can be found together in the same habitat.
The damage from the leaf miner generally looks like this
And miner looks like this
The damage from the leafroller looks like this:
Larval leafroller with the parasite on it.
And the parasite , once it grows up from being a maggot, looks like this
It's still not clear what damage this might do. Maybe nothing significant. Maybe this is an aberration only for this year. Stay tuned.